VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Duterte understates his salary again

President Rodrigo Duterte made a wrong claim about his salary in a speech before the 6th Regional Community Defense Group in Dingle, Iloilo on Feb 22.

Duterte assured his audience he has no ambition of overstaying as president “even one day” and cannot wait to relinquish his post after his term. His reason: He only earns P200,000 monthly. Duterte said it’s not enough to support his two families.

Duterte understates his salary by P98,000.

This is not the first time the president made a false claim about his salary. During the inauguration of a Typhoon “Haiyan” rehabilitation housing program in January 2017 in Tacloban City, Duterte said he was only being paid P130,000 a month. (See: VERA FILES FACT CHECK: How much does President Duterte earn monthly?) Duterte’s claim is P35,000 short of his actual take home pay at the time.

(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative.)